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Which case is better?

B

bladephoenix

Senior member
I am trying to decide between these two at my local store:

Antec Sonata or Thermaltake SViking

Xaser III V1000A is a nice case also which is coming down to something I can afford, but I was a bit worried that 7 case fans might produce some huge noise. Which case do you guys think is better?

Thanks.
 
If you cut out the metal along the outside of the fans the noise is greatly reduced and the air flow greatly increased. The v1000a is a very heavy case though.

If quiet is what you're looking for I'd go with the antec.
 
antec sonata is one of the best cases you can get available for price/quality/looks/quietness/power. sonata hands down.
 
That is true...the Sonata seems to be very popular among everyone, which is why I am considering it. The only thing that bugs me about the Sonata is that it only has 3 5.25" bays, as opposed to most other cases which have 4. The case I am using now has 3 5.25" bays, of which I am using them all, and I might want to buy a thermal monitor soon, so the Antec wouldn't offer much in terms of expandibility. On the other hand, it is the only case which is designed to be quiet that is out right now...which is nice cause that constant whirling noise at 2:00 A.M. is really annoying.

Just a little off topic, while shopping for cases I found that removable mobo trays are a $150 CDN price premium just for that feature. I found that kind of odd because the case I bought five years ago (InWin A500) has a similar pull out PCI/Mobo tray like those found in Wave Masters, yet I only paid $100 for it when I bought it...although it has horrible air flow, which is why I am upgrading. I just found it kind of strange that a feature which had next to no meaning a few years ago is now double in value. =)
 
Actually, I have been doing a little thinking, and I mine as well get a higher range case that will last a few years and another system upgrade or so, so I have been doing more looking around. Believe it or not, my local reseller is not offering Wave Masters anymore, so I decided between two other cases:

Thermaltake Tsunami
Antec P160

I guess Antec has the better brand, but I seem to hear all the more rage about the Tsunami than the P160 from all the google searches I've done. Any thoughts on this?

I also have trouble deciding on these two, because where one has a window and an extra 120 mm and a 90 mm fan, the other has a removable mobo tray and a thermo monitor. What do you guys think between these two?

Thanks.
 
Originally posted by: bladephoenix
Actually, I have been doing a little thinking, and I mine as well get a higher range case that will last a few years and another system upgrade or so, so I have been doing more looking around. Believe it or not, my local reseller is not offering Wave Masters anymore, so I decided between two other cases:

Thermaltake Tsunami
Antec P160

I guess Antec has the better brand, but I seem to hear all the more rage about the Tsunami than the P160 from all the google searches I've done. Any thoughts on this?

I also have trouble deciding on these two, because where one has a window and an extra 120 mm and a 90 mm fan, the other has a removable mobo tray and a thermo monitor. What do you guys think between these two?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I could care less for a removable motherboard tray. But I do have a Lian-Li PC75B (the greatest case of all time according to everyone). It does have a removable tray, but it isn't necessary since it's very roomy.
 
Don't rule out Lian-Li when looking at cases. The PC-60 is a low cost case with a removable mobo tray, 4 5.25" bays and 5 hard drive bays (internal, also has 3 external 3.5" bays). At ~$90, it's a bargin... You will need to get a PSU for it, but that means you get to pick the one YOU want.

Just look at what newegg has listed for Lian-Li cases and go from there. Of course, as shown in my sig, I have one of their V1100b cases and love it.
 
Originally posted by: bladephoenix
Actually, I have been doing a little thinking, and I mine as well get a higher range case that will last a few years and another system upgrade or so, so I have been doing more looking around. Believe it or not, my local reseller is not offering Wave Masters anymore, so I decided between two other cases:

Thermaltake Tsunami
Antec P160

I guess Antec has the better brand, but I seem to hear all the more rage about the Tsunami than the P160 from all the google searches I've done. Any thoughts on this?

I also have trouble deciding on these two, because where one has a window and an extra 120 mm and a 90 mm fan, the other has a removable mobo tray and a thermo monitor. What do you guys think between these two?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Aside from power supplies, I'd say the Tsunami should be equal in quality to the Antecs..
the Tsunami is exactly the same inside as my Compucase, which is also exactly the same inside as an Antec 3700 (I think is the model) and I mean like made in the same factory same.... hard drive cages and drive sliders give it all away!
 
i recently got the p160, althought the primary reason was it cost only $60 after rebates and it fulfilled all of my needs. i like the tsunami but a lot of people say it is loud.
 
Originally posted by: bladephoenix
I am trying to decide between these two at my local store:

Antec Sonata or Thermaltake SViking

Xaser III V1000A is a nice case also which is coming down to something I can afford, but I was a bit worried that 7 case fans might produce some huge noise. Which case do you guys think is better?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Out of those two I would definetly get the Sonata. It looks much better then the SViking in my opinion and gets great reviews from people. As far as the Xaser series go I probably wouldn't use one of those if I got one for free since I think they look horrible. As far as Thermaltake cases go I think the only halfway decent looking one is the Tsunami. Thats all personal preference though.
 
My Sonata is a little cramped. Also, the PSU wires are extremely tangled up! They are tangled for the first 6-8 inches. In order to correct it, I have to remove all the wires from all the plugs, one plug at a time, unknot, and reconnect. I which they had taken greater care in the factory.
 
i dont know if they changed the front usb ports at all from when i bought the sonata i used to build a comp for someone, but if you use the front usb ports a lot, i wouldn't get the sonata. after about 2 weeks of using it, the whole usb (card i guess) moves when you plug a cord in or out. it still works, but it gets more than a little annoying.

basically unless they changed it, sonata = flimsy usb ports
 
why don't you go for the Antec 3700BQE, a little larger than the sonata, better temps (the sonata runs hot), an extra bay for you on the 5.25, and it is also billed as a quiet case...I have hte 3700AMG (essentially the same, but a different grill on the rear exhaust fan) and love it, nice quiet and the like.
 
I love my Antec P160. It took me a lot of research to decide on a case, and it turned out to be the perfect one. I added a top 120mm blowhole, and lined the case with Paxmate, plus a few other goodies,. The top-mounted USB/Firewire ports in the front are also a huge plus, making it easy to plug in my JumpDrive of my digital camera.
 
Originally posted by: Mik3y
antec sonata is one of the best cases you can get available for price/quality/looks/quietness/power. sonata hands down.
Click to expand...

very true mike considering its like one of ur fav cases
 
I was looking at the Sonata and the Tsunami myself. I ended up choosing the sonata because of cost, mostly. The Tsunami would have been a bit more with a decent PSU and a fanbus. The tsunami is a bit louder than the sonata but if you run it off of a fanbus, you can contol the noise. The sonata, OTOH, is controlled by the psu temp. Mine never gets up to high enough speed to be loud. I'm running a P4 3.0c (stock speeds), BFG 6800 OC (all pipelines anabled) with an Arctic Cooling VGA silencer, 1 gig of crucial pc3200 ram, a seagate 7200 rpm hd, and a dvd-rom. My cpu stays fairly cool (Thermalright SP94 and enermax 92mm fan at 2200 rpm) at idle but gets a bit hot under load (~50) for my tastes. I would have liked for the fans to have been more responsive to the cpu temps vs the psu temps.

Anyway, if you're going to be overclocking or running something really heavy, the Tsunami or P160 may be a better choice as you can more easily control the fan speeds.

I am also a bit dissappointed in the paint job on the Antec. It looks nice but scratches easily. My only other complaint is the front fan is mounted behind the hard drives.

It IS a very quiet case, though, and it has a lot going for it. I'm very happy with it overall.
 
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